


Runaway Baby

by VictoriaEllis



Series: We Never Close [3]
Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Slow Build, Speed ist alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-08-07 20:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16414988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoriaEllis/pseuds/VictoriaEllis
Summary: A series of murders have the Team on high alert. At the same time Horatio finds out about Ryan and intends to fix it.





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> It took me far too long to update and I am sorry about that. I will try to do better. Thanks for anyone who left comments or kudos.

_She was running through the dark streets, her breathing was erratic and she stumbled from time to time in her haste. Her blood was rushing in her ears, but she still could hear their thundering footsteps. Her head whipped around from time to time, to look at them. They were still so close, too close. She needed to get further away. Her black curls stuck to her face as sweat ran down her brow, making it harder to see. Her whole body hurt, but she couldn’t give up. Looking back again, she let out a chocked scream and tried to run even faster. They were getting closer to her. They would get her soon. Why wouldn’t they let her be? What had she done, that they were chasing her like this? Why would they want to hurt her? She wanted to stop, so scream and beg them to let her be, but she had seen their eyes. They had been so cold. They wouldn’t listen to her._

____  
N _ot really looking where she was running, she stumbled over something on the ground, losing her balance. She tried to catch herself, but it was too late. She fell, hitting her head on the ground. For a moment, her whole vision went black and the only sound she could hear was her own erratic heartbeat. Struggling to get up again, she blinked a few times. Her whole body was shaking and all she wanted to do was sleep, but she could not stay still. She needed to get away. She tried to pick herself up again, when a shadow fell over her. Shaking even harder now, she looked up. The fear was clear to see in her eyes. “Please…” she begged breathlessly, whimpering at the pain. She tried to scramble away as they gathered around her. Looking at them with wide eyes, she tried to curl into herself, as she opened her mouth to scream._  
  
__It was early in the morning when Miranda Roth carried her trash bag with her as she approached the small alley next to the apartment building. Doing this was always such a hassle. Walking the stairs was bad enough for her old bones. Grumbling to herself, she walked towards the dumpster, when she saw it. Blood. Everywhere. Putting a hand in front of her mouth, she stumbled back.__

 

\---

 

The scene was a mess. Whoever had done this was one sick individual. There was blood everywhere. Around the body, splattered through the alley, covering the walls near the victim. The young woman they had found was almost unrecognizable. Her body had been cut and torn into so many times that it had even been hard to tell that she was indeed a woman. Her face was cut up in a way that made it impossible to recognize, the rest of her body was covered in cuts too. For now they could only speculate, what had been done to her. Whoever had done this must have taken his time. She was a bloody mess, her whole body covered in her own blood.  
Tim clenched his jaw as he began processing the scene, taking photographs of everything around him. Alexx would have much work to do, as would they. He really hoped that they would be able to catch whoever was responsible for this. And they would have to find something that gave them a clue who it would have been. Between all the junk and dumpsters around here it would be hard work.  
Calleigh and Eric were here too. It was first priority to clear this scene as fast as possible. There were just too many ways that the evidence could get contaminated and they needed anything they could get. It was no secret that this would hit the news faster than they would like it too. Moreover, who knew if the killer would not try to find someone else to ‘play’ with?  
Horatio was standing at the entrance of the alley, sunglasses in hand and a grim expression on his face. It was clear that he wanted them to do their best and fast.

   
Surveying the scene and fidgeting with his sunglasses a bit, he took in everything before he walked over to Alexx and looked down at the Body.  
“Alexx?” he asked as he arrived next to her. “What can you tell me?”  
“The poor baby never stood a chance against whoever did this to her. She has several stab wounds and broken bones as far as I can tell now. I cannot tell you what exactly caused her death but my first guess would be the blood loss. I can tell you more about that after I finished my examination.”  
She looked up to him for a Moment.  
“It will be hard to identify her. There is no ID on her body. I will see what I can get. He really did a number on her body.”  
Looking back down on the body, she snapped off her gloves and stood up slowly.  
“What I can tell you is that from her body temperature I would say this happened somewhere last night. I’ll let you know as soon as I know something else.”  
Horatio nodded in Agreement.  
“Thank you, Alexx.”  
For a moment he watched her as she gave orders to transport the body back to the lab. Then he walked over to Detective Morgan, who nodded in a gruff greeting.  
“Can I talk to the person who called it in?”  
Morgan nodded again and pointed at the building to their right.  
“Mrs. Roth, the old lady who called it in lives in this building.” He told Horatio. “Claims she didn’t notice anything until she took out the trash.”  
“Thank you, Detective.”  
  


Miranda sat at her kitchen table, a bottle of whiskey next to her, drinking a cup of coffee. Horatio sat down in front of her and watched her for a Moment.  
“Mrs. Roth? I am Lieutenant Caine. I would like to ask you some questions.”  
“It’s about that person, is it? The one in the back alley?”  
He nodded in agreement and she took another gulp out of her Cup.  
“What do you want to know?”  
“Did you notice anything unusual, before you found the body? Maybe some time ago?”  
She shook her head at that.  
“Everything was alright, when I walked by there yesterday. Something must have happened after that. But with the pills I have to take for my health I sleep like a baby. There is hardly anything that would wake me and without my hearing aids I can’t hear much anyway. If there was something I didn’t notice it.”  
She stopped for a moment and shook her head.  
“I can’t imagine who would do something like that. Do you know who that person is?”  
Horatio shook his head slightly.  
“No, not yet, but we will find out.”  
Miranda thought about this for a moment, taking another sip from her coffee and nodded.  
“Well, I hope you find the bastard.”

 

\----

 

Tim was going through the crime scene photos while Eric had every item that they had found spread out in front of him. There was much to do and Tim really did not envy either of them. Calleigh had gone down to the morgue to assist Alexx and to take as many samples of potential used weapons as possible.  
Sorting through the photographs Tim could not help but wonder where there youngest team member was. He did not know Ryan Wolfe for long, but he seemed like a reliable guy.  
“Any idea why Ryan is still not here?” he asked Eric who simply shrugged.  
“Who knows. Maybe Wolfe found something better to do with his time then show up for work.”  
Tim frowned slightly and shrugged. He did not know the other CSI long enough to really say anything to that. He had only worked with him once and even if he had been stiff and awkward Tim had to say that he had rather liked Ryan. He was focused on his work and seemed to be a decent guy. And given the fact that Ryan had joined the Lab while he was out due to his injury he could understand the insecurity he must have felt. After all Tim himself had felt that way when he had walked back through this door.  
He had felt like an idiot with latex gloves and swabs, when he came back and he’d been afraid that Horatio might think that he’d unable to do his job efficiently any longer. He’d been afraid that he might not be of any use any longer. So he had tried to prove himself with their case and they had been able to close it, even though it involved the death of their culprit. The case was still successfully closed. It had been quite a booster for his confidence.  
Still, his bright mood was subdued and his optimism guarded. Somehow he had a feeling that something else had happened too. Something behind the scenes he had known nothing about and it had something to do with Ryan Wolfe. And now said CSI was not showing up at work. Speed wondered what was going on. Ryan had looked dejected for the last couple of days and after he all but stormed out of them last week he had not seen him. He wondered who it had been that had called him. There had been a carefully blank expression on Wolfe’s face when he had come back, but there were several emotions practically dripping of him. Most of all anger.  
For a moment, Speed considered asking Horatio if he knew anything about it, but H was in a bad mood since this morning. Being a CSI short, because someone was AWOL would hardly do anything to improve that mood.  
Sighing silently, he began organizing the pictures he had taken from the scene, pinning them to the wall behind him. Thinking about his coworker’s strange behavior was something he could do after he was done with his work. There was too much to do to get distracted now. Still, any helping hand would be good, but it looked as if it would be just the three of them for now.  
  


Tim had finished lining up the photographs and was beginning with the Crime scene sketch, while Eric had gone trough and remarkable amount of junk, collecting as much evidence from them as possible. There was a good possibility that most if not all of them would be irrelevant for their case, but they could hope. Especially the cigarette buds they had found near the body might give them some clue. Things like broken glass, pipes, pokers might have been used as weapons too. At the moment they had too little information about what had taken place. Anything was an option.  
It was then that Horatio walked in.  
“Has either of you heard anything from Mr. Wolfe?” he asked them, watching as they both shook their head. Horatio frowned slightly. “Tell me the moment he arrives.”  
“Sure.”  
“How is it going here?”  
“There were some fingerprints on the pipe and glass. I am running them through CODIS, to see if there is any match. The tests for DNA are with Valera and Calleigh is with Alexx to try to find out what kind of weapon was used.”  
“Good… keep me posted.”  
The two nodded as Horatio left them to their work again.

  
Horatio frown deepened when he walked towards the front desk and asked about Ryan Wolfe. He had not called in sick, yet the other man had still to show up to work. Fishing out his cell phone he dialed Wolfe’s number for the third time that day. And yet again the call was directed to the answering machine. He had tried both his home and mobile and was still unable to get a hold on him. Shaking his head he made his way over to the morgue. He would look further into that later.


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry it took me so long to update. Unfortunately I can't even promise that I will update regularly, as life usually gets in the way. But I thank you for your patience. Here is the rest of this part of the series.
> 
> The next Part of the series will hopefully be postet early in January, as it is almost done. After that I make no promises, as I am currently somewhat stuck.
> 
> Also: If you have ideas for a case, something you want to read in this series or just something I should change or improve, feel free to leave me a comment.

Ryan sat on his sofa, staring at his phone. Horatio had tried to call him multiple times now and Ryan knew that he should have called him back, but a part of him – he was inclined to agree that it was a very childish part – did not want to do that. That childish part told him that Horatio already knew why he was not at work. That part could not understand why he was calling at all and Ryan could not help but wonder himself. It made him second guess what he knew, but he was still too confused to do anything but sit here and think.  
As a matter of fact he had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He could probably apply for a position back at Patrol again, but he knew this was not what he wanted to do. There also was the possibility to try and simply work at a lab. That did not appeal to him either. And if he wanted to be a CSI again he would most likely have to move. Yet his family was here and he could not imagine leaving them.  
Being a CSI had been his dream and now he sat here and did not know what to do. It had been all so much easier when he had been angry at Horatio too. Then he did not have to think about all the possible reasons as to why this had happened. He could simply direct his anger on him and work through it from there. Now there was still an underlining anger burning in his system, but it was unfocused. It left him with no alternative but to actually face what was going on. He needed to come up with a plan and fast. It would gain him nothing if he kept sitting at home with nothing to do.  
  


* * *

  
Alexx was slowly cleaning the body. Every bit of evidence that might have been on her had been collected and send to trace. Now she needed a clearer look at those wounds. Almost every inch of her once so beautiful mocha skin was covered in bruises, scratches or slashes. Alexx could not understand why someone would want to hurt anyone in this way. The woman on her table must have been a real beauty with her smooth skin and black curly hair and now she was dead and broken. Her face was sliced again and again, making it hard to imagine what she might have looked like before. Alexx let out a sigh and stroked the woman’s hair for a moment. No one deserved something like this and she would do her best to make sure this woman would be able to rest in peace.

Smiling slightly she looked at Calleigh who had already begun to photograph the now clean wounds.  
“Shall we?”  
The blond woman nodded and the two began their work anew. Alexx combed the victim’s hair again, before she started with her arms.  
Several bruising. Three of her fingers in her left hand are broken. Two on her right. Slashes on both arms, torso, back and tight. Bruises and abrasions on her lower legs. She must have fallen down and most likely stayed down.”  
Alexx took a closer look on her hands.  
“Abrasions on her hands too, still it does not look as if she has any defensive wounds, but it is hard to tell with all the bruising.”  
“It looks like there were several tools used on her,” Calleigh told her. “There are at least three different marks.”  
Looking at the wounds Alexx let out a noise of agreement.  
“It is possible that this was done by more than one person. That would have made her death a lot quicker too. That might also explain why no one had heard or seen anything. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”  
Walking around the body, Alexx turned her on her stomach to look at her back.  
“Several bruises and slashes on her back too. She was attacked from all sides. Having this many wounds it only took her a few minutes to bleed out. Especially after they cut her aorta.“

  
It took quite some time for her to finish her final examination. Alexx was writing her report when Horatio came down to see her. Calleigh had left her some time ago with pictures and molds of all the different marks.  
“Alexx.“  
She smiled at him.  
“Horatio. I take you are here for our Jane Doe?“  
Horatio nodded again.  
“Her estimated time of death was between midnight and 1am last night. It is safe to assume that she was running away from her attackers. The multiple wounds and difference in them shows that there had to be at least three different attackers.“  
“What makes you think that?“  
“I looked at all the wounds and it was clear that they were made by different weapons. Calleigh also noted that they seemed to differ in the way they were executed. There was not the same amount of strength applied and the weapons were held differently. Even the same kind of weapon. There are slashes that must have been caused by the same weapon, but they are still not identical.“  
Horatio nodded slowly.  
“Thank you Alexx.“  
He turned to go when a shrill sound made them turn.  
“Looks like we have found out who our Jane Doe is,“ Alexx told him as she walked over to the computer. “Miss Lucia Dane.“  
She turned towards the body again and smiled. “At least you have a name now.“

 

* * *

   
Informing Mrs. And Mr. Dale that their daughter had been found murdered was not something Horatio had looked forward to. But he had been even less prepared for the hard look that crossed Mr. Dane’s face.  
“It is all that woman’s fault.“  
Horatio titled his head to the side and watched the father intently.  
“Who’s fault, sir?“  
“That woman she was living with. When Lucia told us they were dating, I thought she was joking, but she actually meant that. That woman was no good for her. She was controlling; jealous. Our baby could have had a nice boyfriend. Instead she choose that woman.“  
“Can you tell me more about her, sir?“  
“Her name is Paula Rumar, they met each other in college and she managed to seduce my little baby. Don’t ask me how she did it, but she did. And Lucia was suddenly so sure that she loved women and not men. Can you imagine how much of a shock that was?“  
The man shook his head and leaned back. His wife had not said anything yet and did not look as if she wanted to anytime soon.  
“They moved in together after College and they were working at the same hospital. Lucia was always complaining that Paula was too controlling. But she still did not leave her. I never understood that.“  
“Darling, please… Now you are being unfair.“ His wife cut in, much to Horatio’s surprise. “They had their differences as every couple does, but they loved each other and Lucia was not always complaining about her. You just never wanted to hear anything else.“  
“That is not true. That woman ruined our daughter.“  
Horatio looked at them for a moment, before he smiled slightly and stood.  
“Thank you, Mr. And Mrs. Dane… If you would be so kind to tell me where Lucia and Paula lived? We’d like to know more about her surroundings. It might help us catch whoever did this to her.“  
Mrs. Dane nodded in agreement and wrote down the address.  
“Just be kind to her. The poor lass must be heartbroken.“  
Her husband looked as if he wanted to object to that, but he refrained from saying anything. Horatio was sure he could imagine what he had wanted to say.

 

Paula Rumar was a small, petit woman with pale skin and flaming red hair and she had a temperament to match it. They had seen it firsthand when they had shown up at her and Lucia’s apartment. They had been met with accusations and anger until they had been able to explain the situation. Now she was sitting in front of them, tears streaming down her face. All in all she was a picture of misery.  
“We are very sorry, Miss Rumar.“  
The woman nodded slowly and tried to whip her tears away.  
“What happened?“  
“She was attacked last night. She was found this morning.“  
“Do you have any idea who might have done something like that to her?“  
“Not yet, ma’m, but we are doing everything we can to catch them. Was there every anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?“  
Paula shook her head.  
“No, everybody loved her. She and I might have fought because I was always so afraid that she just might leave me, but that was it… Her father probably thinks that I did something to her… He never liked me. I guess that is to be expected if you are the one who supposedly ‘corrupted’ their sweet little princess. He never could accept that maybe this was what Lucia wanted and it hadn’t taken any convincing at all to get her to agree to go on a date with me. As a matter of fact, it had been her who started flirting with me. Not the other way around. But Mr. Dane would never believe that. Not even when Lucia told him so herself.“  
The woman shook her head dejectedly.  
“He was so sure that I had to be the evil part and he always, always tried to set her up with boys he thought suitable for her. It was one of the reasons I got so jealous. I was always afraid that she might realize that she could have someone better than me.”  
“Miss Rumar, when was the last time you have seen Miss Dane?”  
She let out a sigh.  
“Yesterday afternoon. She had the nightshift, switched with one of her colleagues. We got into a fight over it. Usually we have shift at the same time. It is rather easy to arrange as we were working on different stations. I didn’t like the thought of her walking home alone at night; she got angry at me for threatening her like a baby. We fought, she left for work and that was the last time I saw her. I thought she might call me when she would be on her way home. When I heard nothing from her I was worried and I tried to call her, but I never reached her. So I figured that she was probably still angry at me and was either sleeping at the hospital or at a friend’s place. It had happened before after we fought, so I wasn't too worried. I thought we would be able to talk it over in the morning, but she never showed up. I tried to call her again and again, but she never answered… Now I know why…“  
“Was there ever anything unusual? Someone threatening her, or someone who made her uncomfortable? “  
Rumar shook her head.  
“No. As I said everybody loved her. And she was fairly oblivious to the things that went on around her. We once walked through a street full of strange looking people. They were staring at us and I was beginning to freak out, but she just kept talking, as if everything was alright with the world.”A small smile set itself on her face. “Maybe back then it was, hm?”  
  


* * *

  
They were all gathered in the layout room.

“So…“ Horatio began when everyone had arrived. “What have we got? “  
“The blood was all her own. We ran several samples of droplets and splatters and every one came back as hers. We will still run the remaining samples just to make sure. “Speed told him with a shrug. „There was nothing else in her blood though.“  
“There were several fingerprints collected but none of them really lead anywhere. There is one that appeared on a pipe near the body as well as a poker. Both were covered in blood, but it is impossible to say if they were used to attack. Calleigh wanted to look into that though. Maybe she can find something.“  
“Speaking of finding something.” Calleigh handed him a folder, her expression grim. “They used pipes, pokers, something sharp - I am guessing glass - a knife with a 2 1/2 inch blade. Matching it up with the differences in which way the wounds were applied, there were most likely four or five people.”  
Alexx nodded at that.  
“There is a possibility that they were chasing her before they attacked. That would explain the scratches she has on her arms and legs. She tried to get away, but she never stood a chance.”  
Horatio looked at his team in silence for a moment.  
“Good… Speed, Eric, keep processing the evidence we have found so far. Calleigh, take Detective Tripp and try to retract her steps. Try to find out where and when they started this, maybe you will find something else then. Dismissed.”


	3. Part III

He watched as they all returned to their posts before he fished his cell phone back out of his pocket. Once again he dialed Wolfe’s number, hoping that the younger man would finally answer.  
“Wolfe?” came the dull reply after a few rings and Horatio could not help but be silent for a second, because he had not really thought the younger CSI would answer.  
“Mr. Wolfe…” he began. “This is Horatio. We are still waiting for you here at the lab. Care to explain to me why you are not here yet?”  
There was a moment of silence and Horatio almost thought that the younger man would simply hang up on him, when he got his answer.  
“I am sorry, Sir. But I am not supposed to be in today… Or any day for that matter.”  
Horatio frowned at that.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I was send on vacation time for the remaining days. I am sure you were told about this.”  
There was an edge in his voice that told Horatio that there was much more to this than he knew right now. And whatever it was, he was most likely not going to like it.  
“Sorry… I have to go…”  
Before Horatio could say anything else Ryan Wolfe had cut the connection.

  
Closing his phone slowly, his frown deepened. He did not know anything about a vacation Wolfe was supposed to take. And it had sounded as if he was not coming back at all. He certainly had not approved that. Given the fact that the young man had sounded angry he knew it had not been him who had wanted out of here.  
All that left him with very few possibilities of what could have happened. He liked none of them.  
Making his way to his office he promised himself to dig a little deeper. If he was forced to take a vacation or anything else there should at least be a notice to him. He wouldn’t let anyone mess his team up. He was going to the bottom of this.  
Horatio did not like what he found. There was indeed a note left that said Ryan Wolfe was to take his vacation time now, along with another notice. This one was from Stetler himself. It was short and clean and told him everything he needed to know. His expression turned grim as she skimmed over the paper for a second time. It looked like he would have to have a long talk with Stetler. He was not going to let this slide and he was not going down without a fight.

 

* * *

  
Calleigh let out a sigh as she filled her mug with coffee. She had been comparing the wounds and possible tools for what seemed like ages now and there was still no conclusive outcome. So far she managed to match the wounds itself to single out the people who had done it, but that was about it. So far they had still no clue, who might have done it. It bothered her more than usual. With something like that there was a good possibility that they would strike again. And that in itself was a scary thought. Sighing again, she took a sip of her coffee and stretched. She needed to return to her lab and finish the comparison. Maybe then they would know something more.

When she and Tripp had returned to the crime scene to retract her steps they hadn’t found anything. There were too many pathways she might have used and there were no cameras located in the back alleys. So it had been nothing but a futile attempt.  
  


* * *

  
They left the restaurant laughing. Marleen shook her head in amusement as she watched her friends. It was good to see them in such high spirits. They had hardly seen each other lately. Life had simply caught up with them and would not let them go.

“Well then, Ladies, I have to go now. Peter is waiting.”  
There were several giggles around her.  
“I bet he is, girl,” Janalyn told her with a grin and a whistle. “Go get him and call me in the morning. Next time we need to have a meeting with the boys don’t you agree.”  
“Absolutely. It’s been too long anyway.”  
Marleen gave her friend a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  
“Don’t stay out to late, ladies.”  
She waved at them as she left, smiling to herself. As she began her way home. Turning the corner she passed a group of college students. Marleen could not help but shake her head in amusement as she caught a snippet of their conversation.  
“That one?”  
“Nah…”  
“That one?”  
“Hm… might be game…”  
That was definitely something she had to tell Peter about. Humming to herself, she continued walking.  
  


* * *

  
It was beginning to become a bit frustrating. So far they had nothing and no clue where to look next.  
Horatio had just left Valera with the last blood results when his phone rang.  
“Caine?”  
He stopped in the middle of the hallway, listening intently to the voice at the other side.  
“I understand. We will be there shortly.”  
Closing his phone he walked into the layout room, where Speed and Eric were currently being.  
“Gather your gear. We got another body.”

  
It did not take them long to arrive at the crime scene. Another small alley, this time between small stores. Getting out of the Hummer they walked over to Frank Tripp who was standing in front of the police tape.  
“Frank,” Horatio greeted him with a nod.  
“Horatio,” the Detective returned the greeting. “We found another woman. This one looks similar to the Dane-Case. She was brutally beaten and mutilated beyond recognition. She was found by a young girl. She was playing here when she found her. The girl is at the hospital with a severe shock. Her mother called it in. We have not found any witnesses. This area is usually deserted at night. There are very few people walking by.”  
Horatio titled his head slightly and headed further into the alley. The scene did look very similar to the Dane-Case indeed. There was blood everywhere, just like it had been in the Dane-Case. The woman was covered in blood, cut up, lying there surrounded by blood.  
“We have not been able to ID her yet. There is no purse. We are not sure if it was lost somewhere or if her attacker might have taken it,” Frank supplied as he stepped next to him.  
“There is a chance that this has not started here.”

  
Calleigh and Eric walked forward, taking photos and began cataloging evidence while Alexx looked over the body. Speed was about to join them, when Horatio called him back.  
“We will try to find out where she came from. Maybe this time we are having more luck.”  
Speed nodded in agreement, as he followed Horatio.  
It did not take them long to look around. Again there was no telling where she might have come from. Frustrated they made their way back to see how the others were fairing.  
“From the body temperature the estimated time of death is about two or three a.m this morning. Just like Lucia Dane our victim has several slash wounds, her face has been cut too and she as wounds from different tools. I will tell you more after I finished my examination,” Alexx told him as she walked past him. “I will head back to the lab now.”  
Calleigh and Eric were still sampling and cataloging evidence, so Speed went to help them. Horatio hoped that they would found something more conclusive this time.  
  


* * *

 

It had not taken so long to identify their victim this time. For that he was glad.  
“Her name was Marleen Phillips. She was 28 years old and worked at a daycare. Her husband reported her missing this morning after she did not come home last night and didn’t contact him.”  
Speed handed him the file and crossed his arms over his chest.  
“There is no indication that the two victims had any connection with each other. I called the husband. He’s on his way here right now.”  
“Good work. Anything else?”  
Speed shook his head.  
“Valera and I are working through the blood samples. Eric and Calleigh are going through everything we found at the scene.”  
“Good. Keep me posted.”  
  


* * *

 

Horatio was on his way to his office, when a man called out to him.  
“Lt. Caine?”  
The dark haired man was dressed in a black suit, his jacket was unbuttoned and his tie was loose. He looked like he had rushed here.  
“Mr. Phillips I assume?”  
The man nodded slowly.  
“Peter Phillips. I was told that you found my wife?”  
Horatio mentioned for him to follow him as he led him to one of the waiting rooms.  
“I am very sorry, Mr. Phillips.”  
Peter Phillips simply shook his head as he sat down. He automatically began to grip his wedding ring, letting his fingers ran over it.  
“What happened?”  
“Your wife was murdered last night, sir. She was found this morning.”  
Phillips had gone pale and let out a shaking sigh.  
“When they told me she was dead… I couldn’t believe it… are you sure it is her? Can I see her?”  
Horatio looked down for a moment before he answered.  
“I do not think this is a good idea. She is in a very… bad shape.”  
He paused again for a moment.  
“Sir, I know this is hard for you, but could you answer some questions for us?”  
“If it helps you find whoever did this to her, I’ll be glad to.” He told him.  
“When was the last time you saw your wife?”  
“Last night. She was going out with a few of her friends.”  
Horatio nodded slowly.  
“Could you tell me their names and addresses?”  
Phillips drew a breath.  
“I only know the number of one of them. Janalyn Luckett. She was her best friend. I can write it down for you. She called me this morning and asked for Marleen. That was when I knew something was wrong.”  
Horatio handed him something to write and watches as he wrote down the number.  
“Please, you have to find them.”  
“We will do everything we can, Mr. Phillips. We will get them.”  
  


* * *

 

Janalya Luckett sat nervously on her chair, she was pale and tense ever since she arrived. Horatio watched her for a moment, before he entered the room with Calleigh.  
“Mrs. Luckett, thank you for coming.”  
The woman nodded, wipping the tears from her eyes. She was a real beauty with her long black hair and olive skin. It was clear that she was devastated by the loss of her friend. Her eyes were red from crying and the tears didn’t seem to want to stop at all. Her eyes held much sorrow as she looked at Calleigh and Horatio, trying to compose herself.  
“Do you know what happened to Marleen?”  
Calleigh smiled slightly at her.  
“We were hoping that you could help us find out what had happened.”  
Janalya took a shuddering breath and straightened up.  
“What do you want to know?”  
“Her husband told us, that she was meeting with you last night? When was the last time you saw her and where?”  
“Poor Peter…,” she muttered as she bit her lower lip. “We were at a restaurant near the beach and left around one a.m. Me and the other girls wanted to go dancing afterwards, but Marleen had begged off. She and Peter were not married for long and she rather wanted to head home to him then go dancing with us. It was so cute how those two couldn’t be without the other for too long. So we said goodbye and she made her way home.”  
Calleigh nodded at that.  
“Was there something suspicious?”  
“No, I didn’t see anything. I would not have let her go alone otherwise.”  
“Could you tell us the address of the restaurant, please? It might help us retract her last steps.”  
Janalya nodded and gave them the address.  
“She entered the street right across from it. It is the fastest way home for her,” she told them as she handed them the piece of paper.  
“I hope you find the S.O.B. who did this to her.”  
  


* * *

 

With the address it had been easier to find a clue which route she might have taken. Still there were a lot of traffic and surveillance camera footage that needed to be checked until they would be able to get something out of it. Yet the knowledge that they might have some footage on their murderers, a chance to see and find them, kept them going.

They were meeting in the Layout room again, Speed was the only one not attending, as he and one of the techs were watching the security footage in hope of catching a glimpse on their culprits. Everyone else had their own jobs to finish, so now Horatio was hoping for some results.  
“I compared the wounds to each other and they are similar. The marks the weapons used are identical, except for some of the cuts. They must have brought their weapons with them and taken them when they left.” Calleigh handed him a file. “None of these weapons are too big to hide. They could have carried them with them.”  
“Marleen’s lungs were widened. Just like Lucia’s. So she had probably been running too. She has a small fracture on the base of her skull. That might have been the first hit. It is hard to tell with all the bruising. But overall their injuries are about the same. She too has several broken bones and too many wounds on her body. She bled out just like Miss Dane did,” Alexx told them.  
Horatio titled his head in acknowledgement and turned to towards Eric.  
“We found a silver chain with a cross in her blood. That clearly did not belong to her and had not been there before. It is probably from one of her attackers. There were some skin cells we send to DNA. The DNA came back as an unknown male. We are crosschecking databases.”  
“Good. Speed is checking the security footage to see if we can’t find them on it. If you are done you could help him. There is a lot of material to go through. We need to catch them as soon as possible. There is no telling when they will attack again, after all.”  
“Sure thing, H,” they told him as they left the room. Alexx smiled at him, but stayed behind. She waited until the two CSI were out of hearing range, before she turned to Horatio.  
“Have you thought about it yet?”  
The redhead let out a sigh and looked down. He did not need ask what she was talking about it was fairly obvious. At least to him. And with her not saying anything more specific they made sure it stayed that way. This was no one else’s business after all.  
“I am going to do it.”  
Alexx smiled warmly at him and placed a hand on his arm.  
“Everything will work out just fine, trust me. You will do a great job.”  
Horatio didn’t look as convinced as she was.  
“Let us hope you are right…”


	4. Part IV

Looking at a seemingly endless amount of security footage was not his favorite thing to do. As a matter of fact he loathed it, but right now this was what he needed to do. Speed was still going through the tapes from the restaurants security camera. He had seen when Marleen and her friends had entered and there had been nothing suspicious after that.  
When he saw them leave, he stopped the tape and jolted the time down on his notepad he had sitting next to him. Letting it play in real time, he watched as she said goodbye to her friends and left them. He let the tape run for a few more minutes, but nothing happened. He speed it up once more for a few minutes, until he stopped the tape completely. There was no one else on this tape who could have followed her. Ejecting the tape, he pushed the pile from the restaurant to the side and took the next one of a traffic camera near the crossroad Marleen had crossed. Looking at the labels he pulled out the one that started before she had left the restaurant and put it in.  
The first thing he noticed was a group of young men who were sitting on a small wall, talking to each other and pointing at someone from time to time. Frowning slightly, Speed began to fast forward the tape until he saw Marleen pass the group. She walked right past them. Speed noted the time again, and kept watching the video. For a moment nothing happened, but then the group got up too and vanished into the dame direction Marleen had gone to. Noting the time again, he ejected the tape. Jolting down a quick note, he handed it to Jensen who set to work right away. They would get a picture out of it, he was sure.  
Turning back to the security footage he pulled out the next tape and began watching. He would find out where they had started chasing her. It was too bad that the attack in itself would not be on tape. This way they might have been able to get them sooner. Still they had gathered enough evidence to catch these guys. He was sure of it.  
  


* * *

 

They were leaving the lab for the day. There was nothing else they could do tonight anyway. Yet Horatio was not going to go home. He had another appointment that he needed to keep. A small smile flittered across his face as he got into his car. He looked at the envelope sitting beside him and wondered again if he was doing the right thing. There was no doubt that he loved Madison. But with his line of work and working hours he was not sure if he would be able to take care of her in the way he should. Driving through Miami, he couldn’t help but reflect on all the doubts he had. He couldn’t understand why Suzie and Alexx thought this would be a terrific idea. When he parked in front of the small restaurant they were meeting at, grabbed the envelope and headed inside.  
He smiled at Suzie and Madison as he walked over to them and sat down. Suzie returned the smile, but he could see that she was nervous. Her eyes were flittering to the envelope in his hands again and again. Titled his head in amusement and handed her the envelope. Suzie hesitated for a moment, before she opened it and pulled the papers out. There on the bottom at the dotted line was his signature. A bright smile set itself upon her face.  
“Thank you” she breathed and pressed them to her chest. “I will see that they are looked at so that everything can get its way. I want to get this done as soon as possible. “  
She did not need to tell him that she wanted it done before her death. He knew. If she knew that Madison was really taken care of she would finally be able to relax. It would not help her but at least she had one less thing to worry about. He wished he could do more for her, but he knew it was futile. And to her he had done a small miracle. He really hoped that the authorities would not stand in her way to sign over custody to him. He had done what he could for now.  
  


* * *

 

The next day started with more hectic then usually. Another body had been found. Horatio’s face was an unreadable mask as he got out of his car and walked over to the scene. It was an even bigger mess than before. It seemed almost untypical, but he just knew that it were the same group. Jensen had presented them with a couple of photos he had pulled out of the tapes. It showed each and every member of the group. The police force was looking for them already. No matter what, they would not be able to hide for much longer.  
Hair was lying around the body and there seemed to be more blood than usual. Alexx was kneeling next to the body taking a first account of the wounds.  
“it looks like this one tried to fight back,” she told Horatio. There are small slashes on her arms and hands. And she did not stay down like the two other victims before her. She tried to get up again at least.”  
“I found a phone!” Speed called, as he fished the flashy red phone out from under the dumpster. He quickly checked the phone record. “The battery is dead. I will check this as soon as we get into the lab.”  
He bagged the phone and put it into his toolbox.  
“There is something else…” Alexx said, as she turned the body to the side. “We actually have and ID on this one.” With that she fished the ID out the woman’s back pocket and handed it to Horatio.  
“Joana King,” he said out loud. “This woman fought back. She might have left us with something to nail those guys.”  
  


* * *

 

“This one was called in.” Eric told Horatio, when he stepped into the lab. “Her brother called 911 after he got a call from her last night. The call was disconnected. They were unable to locate her phone and her and she had not been able to tell her brother were she was, but she told him that a group of college students was following her.” Eric shook his head. He did not even want to imagine one of his sisters calling him in the same situation or even being in said situation. “I gave him a call. He is on his way here.”  
Horatio nodded and titled his head to the side. They were getting sloppy obviously. That gave them a better chance at finding them. Hopefully before they killed again.  
“Anything on the hair we found?”  
“it is not hers that is for sure. Valera is working on it right now.”  
“Good, call me as soon as you know something else.”  
  


* * *

 

Marshall King was rather calm when he walked up to Horatio and the redhead knew that he probably had come to the conclusion that his sister was dead already.  
“Marshall King, I heard you found my sister.”  
There was regret and sadness in his voice, but he didn’t show much of anything else.  
“Your sister called you last night?” Horatio asked as they sat down. Mr. King nodded and let out a tired sigh.  
“It was late. Half past two I think. I had just headed to bed when she called. I almost had been tempted to ignore it and if it hadn’t been her I probably would have. Joana sounded so scared. She was out of breath and crying and choking as she tried to talk to me. I didn’t understand everything and it was all so fast. She told me that there were a bunch of college students running after her. She also said a name… Martens or something… She must have known one of the guys. I tried to get her to tell me where she was. I was already dialing 911 on my other phone, when I heard her scream. There was a loud noise – I think she dropped her phone or something – and then the connection was lost. I called 911 and told them what I knew, but they were unable to find her. That is until you found her…” He stopped for a moment. “I… I had feared that she was dead. It hadn’t sounded good at all. I just wish I had known where she was going that night… Maybe they would have found her in time then…”  
Horatio stayed silent as he looked down. For a while no one said anything. Then Horatio looked up again.  
“Your sister was a student?”  
“Yes. She was almost done. She was going to the Miami-Dade College.”  
  


* * *

 

After he had given the phone records to Eric, Speed had started to look closer at the phone. There was a chance that there was something else that might help them after all. Looking though the phone he came across a couple of blurred pictures. They were taken at the time of the attack, so Speed went to Jensen again to let him take a look at them. He watched as the tech sharpened the pictures until they were as clear as they could get. Without really needing too, Speed help up one of the pictures of the security footage next to it. It was a match. They had now official that did not only place them at the crime scene of Joana but linked them directly to Marleen too. Smirking he thanked Jensen and took the photos. The others needed to know about this.

Horatio was not really sure why he had tried to call Wolfe again. He knew that something was amiss and that Stetler had something to do with it. He wanted the younger man to tell him what was going on, what Stetler had told him, but it was hard to get a hold on him. Wolfe didn’t want to talk to him apparently. That was another thing that bothered him. Why had the younger man not come to him when Stetler approached him? Why had he not told him what was going on? He might have been able to do something about it. As a matter of fact he still planned on doing exactly that. It was busy time right now and they needed any help they could get and Ryan had worked good in their team. He was a good asset and Horatio refused to simply let him leave. It was not as if he could not hire him and still have Speedle around after all. They would have needed the help without Speeds injury anyways.  
Closing his phone as he was directed to the mailbox again, he made a mental note to talk to Yelina. There was a chance that Wolfe would try to get back to Patrol. He needed her to look out for that. He was not going to loose his CSI.  
  


* * *

 

Due to Marshall Kings testimony several police officers had skimmed through the students at Miami-Dade College especially looking for a Mr. Martens. It didn’t take long to catch the group they had seen in the pictures and taking them into custody. Horatio watched as they were put into the police cars and driven to their lab. Their backpacks had gone to Speed. Eric was talking to the janitor to open their lockers. They would take everything they could from here and if necessary they would search their homes too.

Speed walked over to him, back pack in hand.  
“You should take a look at this H.”  
He held the back pack open and Horatio could see the knife at the bottom of it.  
“That does not look good for the young man, does it?” the lieutenant asked, with a small smile of satisfaction. “Give everything you find to Calleigh. She will be able to match them for us.”  
“Will do.”  
“Good and search their homes for any weapon that might be connected to this case too. We got the warrants for that.”  
  


* * *

 

Going through their homes had taken a while. Horatio had placed the four men into separate interrogation rooms. There was an officer with each and every one of them. Eric had taken DNA samples as well as their fingerprints and had returned to process them. Horatio waited and watched them. They all seemed relatively calm given the circumstances, but Horatio knew that that would change as soon as they were confronted with the evidence. The only one who might stay calm would be the leader. So far he had not been able to figure out who it might be. There had been very little interaction between them when they had been arrested. There was a good chance that they had talked this through before. They had seemed fairly organized after all. Taking a look into his folder, Horatio walked into one of the examination room.  
The young man already occupying it looked up when he entered and smirked at him. Horatio simply raised an eyebrow as he sat down.  
“Walter Anderson. You know why you are here, don’t you?”  
The young man kept smirking and shrugged.  
“Sorry Sir, I have no idea.”  
“Three women have been found murdered and we know that you and your friends are responsible for it.”  
“You must be mistaken. There is no way we would do something like that.”  
“Really?” Horatio asked. He opened his file and took out a picture. “That is you. Following Marleen Phillips. Notice the chain around your neck?” Horatio pulled out another picture and placed it next to the first one. “We found it in her blood, right next to her body. That is rather suspicious, won’t you agree?”  
Anderson had gone slightly pale by now. The smirk had left his face, but he still tried to act as if he owned the place.  
“That doesn’t prove anything.”  
“It doesn’t? Then how about this?” Horatio pulled another picture out of his folder and placed it on top of the others. “Another picture of you. Taken by Joana King with her phone before you killed her.”  
Horatio leaned forward, staring at Anderson who was sweating now.  
“And I bet that the knife we found in your backpack will be a perfect match to the marks we found on each victim.”  
Anderson was fidgeting now.  
“You… you can’t prove that-”  
“We can.” Horatio assured him. “And we will.”  
With that he stood up again. Anderson might not have talked, but his reaction told him everything he needed to know. One down, three to go.  
  


* * *

 

It was when Eric came to him with the results of the DNA samples that he approached Matthew Hill. He like Anderson had acted tough and confident when he had first arrived. Horatio pulled the pictures out and showed them to him too.  
“These pictures place you at the locations of two identical murders.” He told him. “On top of that we found this.”  
He took out a picture of some hair.  
“Now… This, my friend, is yours. And it was found right next to one of the victims. So not only were you near the locations, you were the one who killed her.”  
Hill frowned at him.  
“I killed no one.”  
“Then how did your hair, your DNA end up next to a dead woman? Why had said dead woman a picture of you on her cell phone taken minutes before her death? Care to explain that to me?”  
“There must be a mistake. I was with my friends.”  
Horatio nodded.  
“That I believe.” He let Hill know, as he took out a few other pictures. “As a matter of fact we know you did this together. So tell me, who’s idea was it?”  
Hill looked at the pictures and shook his head. He, just like Anderson before him, had gone white as a sheet.  
“It was not supposed to be like this!” he exclaimed suddenly.  
“What was it supposed to be like then?” Horatio asked as he leaned forward.  
Hill looked at him with wide eyes and shook his head. He looked afraid of something and was suddenly interested in everything but him. Horatio leaned back at and watched him. It was obvious that Hill was not the leader, just like Anderson had only been one to follow. But there was also something else. He looked as if he was afraid what would happen if he betrayed his leader. Horatio couldn’t help but wonder what kind of power he had over them. With Hill and Anderson out there were only Rick Martens and Luke Fisher left. Horatio had a feeling that it was Martens who held the reigns in his hand, but he wanted to make sure. He had a few questions he wanted answered after all.  
  


* * *

 

Ryan stared at his phone for a while, contemplating what to do. Horatio had tried to call him again, but he had not answered. He really couldn’t see Horatio’s need to call him up again and again. The doubt that had been nagging at him ever since he had talked to him was getting worse. Ryan really did not know what to think anymore. And on top of that he needed to look for a new job.  
With a sigh he grabbed his phone, staring at it for a moment. He would call Yelina. She could probably tell him if there was a chance for him to go back to Patrol. This was not what he wanted, but it was at least something.  
  


* * *

 

Calleigh was holed up on her lab. They had found several potential weapons that could match the wounds of their victims and she was going through all of them. Eric had dusted them and checked for blood before he handed them to her, so there was nothing left to do but find out which ones had been used.  
Picking up one of the pokers she looked at the hook on it, and began comparing it with marks they had gathered from the victims. A small smile set itself upon her face, when she found a match. Placing the poker to the side, she paged Eric with the number, so that he could run those prints again.  
Looking at the table where the rest of the weapons lay, she picked up the next one and continued her work.  
  


* * *

 

While waiting for Calleigh to finish, Horatio decided that he would take care of another problem while waiting. It was not hard to find Rick Stetler. Walking up to him, Horatio stopped right next to him, his head titled to the side, sunglasses in hand.  
“Hello Rick,” he began. “I got your note.”  
Stetler looked at him with an almost amused expression. It was clear that he already thought he had won this round.  
“What about it, Horatio?”  
“Care to explain to me, why it is that Mr. Wolfe was released?”  
Stetler smirked and waved his hand dismissively.  
“There was no need for an additional CSI now that Mr. Speedle is back on duty.”  
Horatio fiddled with his glasses and stared at Stetler.  
“You know as well as I do that there is indeed a need for him to be here. We need more help around here and it was approved as far as I know.”  
Stetler shrugged.  
“I did not hear about that. And what is done, is done.”  
He smirked again, but Horatio simply continued to stare at him.  
“We will see about that, Rick.”

He had immediately called administration and they had confirmed that yes, the new spot on the team had been approved. Walking into his office Horatio had put down a notice for them and send it. Now he only had to hope that it was not too late.  
  


* * *

 

When made his way back to the interrogation room, Eric handed him a folder with a smirk. All their fingerprints had been found on different weapons that could be linked to all three crimes. There was no way for them to escape now. And for Horatio there was only one thing left to do.

Stopping in front of the interrogation room that held Rick Martens he took a moment to look at him, before he entered the room. Martens was one of those guys who was able to gather people around him. He was handsome enough to get what he wanted, but not enough to attract attention to him at all times. With his laid back attitude it was hard for people to suspect anything from him. So no one saw the dark underneath the sunny attitude. Right now he was still confident and Horatio was sure that his attitude would not change. Not even when confronted with his crimes. Martens thrived in this in a way that made him sick.  
Sitting down in front of him, le placed his elbows on the table and started at Martens.  
“We have evidence that you and your friends killed three women. There is one thing I want to ask you. Why did you do it?”  
Martens grinned at him and leaned forward.  
“Have you ever felt the thrill of a hunt, lieutenant? It is exciting. It gets my blood rushing like nothing else. And let’s face it. The bigger the pray the more fun it is. And when you are not supposed to hunt the prey at all? It is pure ecstasy. The look on their faces when they realized what he wanted to do, the way they ran from us as if they had a chance to escape. I can remember their screams. It sends shivers down my spine and makes me want to experience this again. Believe me, lieutenant. There is nothing sweeter than this.”  
Horatio stared blankly at him.  
“Well this will be the last hunt for you. Were you are going; you will do good to make sure not to end up as prey yourself. They like guys like you.”  
Martens was still smirking at him, even when an officer came to him to hoist him up and out of the door.  
  


* * *

 

Horatio stepped next to his team as they watched the four men as they were led outside to be driven to county lockup. It was a bittersweet feeling to see them finally arrested for what they had done. It had still been too late for the three women who fell victim to their sick minds.  
At least they could give closure to their families. And to Horatio there was still another thing he needed to address. Looking at his team, he contemplated how to break the news to them.  
“I have new information concerning Mr. Wolfe,” he told them. They were looking at him expectedly and he could see the conflicting emotions in some of them. It was not essentially news to him that Ryan Wolfe had had a rough start in their team.  
“Apparently he was suspended and released from duty without my knowledge. His spot on the team had been approved so there was no reason to release him from duty.”  
He stopped for a moment, taking in their reaction. Even though some of them were not too fond of him, all seemed offended that someone would do that.  
“Why would they do that? What are you going to do about it?”  
It was Alexx who asked the question, and Horatio could only shrug.  
“I don’t know why they did it, but I am trying to reverse it. We will get him back.”  
Alexx nodded at him.  
“Good, let’s see to that.”  
  


* * *

 

_End of Episode 3: Runaway, Baby_   
_Stay tuned for the next Episode: A Mother’s tears_


End file.
